Pursuit
by dellykins
Summary: Revised version of Chapter 1 is now up. More to follow.Approximately 2k added. :X


**I am currently re-working this story. The new chapters will be up soon, with any hope. I am cutting a LOT. Tweaking the plot so it makes coherent sense. Cutting a lot of characters that were not a part of my original intent.**

**~D**

**Title: **Pursuit. Part 1: Pursuit of 1. Bad Judgement.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Multi-Continuity A/U  
><strong>Series:<strong> Pursuit  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>**Mature Content.** See ending notes for all specific warnings.  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Barricade, Mikaela Banes, Ensemble  
><strong>Summary: <strong>In which Mikaela goes for a ride.  
><strong>Note: <strong>See ending notes.

Prologue...

_Barricade knew he was radiating nervous energy, it was the last thing he wanted the audience to pick up. It was his first piece to debut, though, and he wanted...he just wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. The Cybertronians filed into the hall, the lights still up and glinting off their freshly polished, metallic bodies into a riot of colors that filled the hall. He searched faces, relieved to see his sire and carrier already seated in a box high above the crowd with most of his cousins, his Aunt Aria, and his Uncle Polaris. Even the Insect was there, much to his chagrin, being coddled, no doubt, by the eldest. His father's other brother, however, was in another box across the hall. They must have been fighting, Barricade reflected. Then again, when aren't they? It was all they ever did. His father and Megatron never seemed to get along these days. _

_He watched his uncle for a moment, Megatron sat next to his own mate, Starscream. He didn't know what to think about the seeker other than that he was unhappy. Very unhappy. Barricade was of the processor that he caused much of his own unhappiness, but he would be a fool to say that in front of either of them. The pair had a set of twin sparks that they carted everywhere with them. The Seeker had several other offspring from a previous relationship, the youngest mechlet was sitting to the left of him, looking both pleased to be included and wary of his carrier's mate. To the right of Starscream was his uncle's mechlet, then the femme, and then his uncle himself. Their sparklings were surprisingly quiet from where they sat between the two adults. It was something he felt like committing to memory, the two were very rarely this still. Barricade had always been fond of his cousins. Arcturus was far too inquisitive, and Megaera was a handful, but he loved them both more for it. _

_A pale blue organic followed his cousin, Lyra, as she was the last of the non-performing family to arrive. It seated itself next to her in their family's box, a look Barricade had come to know as smug gracing its reptilian features. His father said that the fleshling was a diplomat. Barricade did not care either way. He found it odd how his cousin was attached at the hip to the creature. For the spark of him he could not understand how she could be attracted to something so...soft and repulsive. _

_Worse still, she had brought her squishy pet with her. The hybrid she claimed as a fosterling was barely bigger than a sparkling and was easy enough to ignore if he wanted to. But it still made his circuits feel as though they were going to fry. His family was the standard all of Cybertron was supposed to hold itself to. It wasn't right how they galavant around with these flesh creatures, treating them as if they were equal._

_There were other fleshlings as well among the Cybertronians. Some were visiting dignitaries representing over a dozen different worlds that his sire had arranged trading agreements with. But others... so many had bound themselves to the creatures, following in his family's lead and acting as if these fleshy bags of meat were their equals. It was sickening, making his fluids simmer. He wanted to jump to his peds and yell at them all. Didn't they see? How could they miss it? This was a perversion of all the gifts Primus had bestowed upon them._

_He forced a few cooling puffs of air through his system. There was no point in getting angry right now. He would not have to deal with any of them until after the performance. And most of the organics were well aware of his reputation and steered clear of him. They would laugh nervously from far away when his cousin's mate flicked his tongue at him or wrapped his tail teasingly around his wrist, but they would remind themselves that the giant lizard was family and that he must get special treatment. Which he did. If any other organic tried what Lyra's organic did he would have squished them._

_The lights dimmed. The stage lights came on. His systems hummed in anticipation. It was his time now._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"_Good judgement is the result of experience, experience is the result of bad judgement."_  
><em>-Mark Twain<em>

Chapter 1. Bad Judgement.

The Saleen Mustang was parked half in shadow, the driver's seat unoccupied. Barricade's sensors ranged the area. He had been tracking the fleshlings for years, ever since the events of Mission City, looking for a weak point. The boy was rarely left on his own; the yellow and black Camaro watched over him like a hawk, never straying far from his charge. Irritation flamed across his processor for a moment. The boy should pay for his actions against Megatron and the destruction of the Allspark, but that was not forthcoming. The rest of the Decepticons had fled since the death of their leader, and Barricade had little want to seek out Starscream. His fondness for his uncle had never extended to his uncle's scheming mate. Serving under the Seeker had done little enough good for him in the past. Little good at all, but land him in the situation that he was currently in. Stuck on this rock. Had he not been in his alt form he would have sneered in irritation.

So he sat and watched, days that turned into weeks that became months and now years, observing their habits. His resentment growing with each passing cycle. He had not been allowed to observe the proper mourning procedure. It was a travesty. How the Prime had allowed such a thing was beyond him. To toss the honored dead away into the watery darkness like so much refuse. One more reason to hate the Prime, hate the boy, to make them all suffer.

The boy was well guarded but the girl, not so much. He watched her walking down the dusty road in the dark, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in. She made a habit of it, walking in the dark. He had picked up enough human chatter to know how dangerous it was for a lone human female to act in such a manner. He observed her, mulling over that thought, over the fleshling's disregard for her own safety. Taking the girl would certainly hurt the boy. Never knowing what happened to her would eat away at him for years, possibly for the rest of his life. And hurting the boy would make the Autobots less than happy. It was reason enough. More than reason enough, his processor whirled. The lights on the Saleen sprang to life, his holoform appearing in the driver's seat as he turned onto the street. He cruised slowly, nearly stopping as he rolled up behind the girl. Mikaela Banes, some far part of his processor reminded him. Not that the fleshling's name mattered to him. All that mattered is that he would make her sorry, and by extension he would hurt all who had done this to him.

She stiffened as she felt the car pull up behind her, looking back with a scowl. Her arms crossed over her chest when the car stopped beside her and the driver's side door swung open. She did not yet know the danger she was in. His research had told him that she ran afoul of local law quite often. Guilt by association. The local authorities watched her in hopes of slipping up her sire. In some ways he could respect these humans, they were often very Decepticon in their practices.

"Miss Banes." He said, amused when she looked down, her eyes catching on the slogan "_To Punish And Enslave"_ on the side of the car. Her look changed from one of annoyance to one of terror. She turned to run and made it all of two strides before the holoform's hand gripped her arm, jerking her around and using her own momentum to slam her against the side of his alt form. She hit hard enough that the air left her lungs, her head impacting, leaving her vision spotty. The back door unlocked and swung wide, allowing Barricade to shove the still dazed girl inside. The locks depressed when the door shut, and his holoform's sensors dispersed back into his true form.

Mikaela whimpered, pressing a hand against her head, "What the fuck," she swore, sitting back in the seat. She reached for the door, not expecting it to give. "What the fuck," she said again, panic and not a little anger starting to settle into her tone. Quite a little mouth on her. She kicked at the door futilely, to his amusement. It was not as if anything the little fleshing did could harm him.

"Continue to do that, Miss Banes, and you will not like my reaction." Barricade finally said as the novelty of her struggle wore off. He scanned the girl's vital signs as he sped down the road, exceeding the speed limit by a clip.

"Like it matters," she snorted. "You are going to kill me anyway," she hissed, kicking at the door with more force.

He did not bother hiding the sneer in his voice. If he'd been in rootmode she would have seen his lip plates curl in a wicked mix of amusement and anticipation. He was going to have fun with her. "Perhaps. But if you continue, I will make it linger."

"Like you aren't going to anyway," she said derisively, kicking harder, her anger overriding her common sense.

His holoform materialised beside her and restrained her, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her close, squeezing. "Desist," he ordered, his voice against her ear. She stiffened when his hand went to her neck, squeezing off her air supply. She struggled, and the world went spotty and then black as she lost her hold on consciousness. She slumped against Barricade's holoform. It frowned as he scanned her again, making sure he had done no permanent damage. He held her as the scan checked her vital signs, finding them normal. Her pulse beat slowly and steadily against his holoform. Her breathing was steady, and her skin was pleasantly warm. She smelled faintly of something he didn't have a name for. Magnolias, he decided as he searched the Internet through his wifi link, and was briefly distracted by it. Briefly. He pushed down his curiosity for the moment, it had no place in this. She was well for now, and that was enough. He didn't want her to be damaged. Not yet, at least. Not yet by far. The seatbelt snaked out, tightening her against the seat, holding her in place before he dispersed the holoform again.

His attention returned to his destination. The paved road turned into a gravel, and the gravel to a dirt road, but he kept driving, getting far enough out of Bumblebee's sensor range. He raced down the road, kicking up a dust-cloud behind him.

A wave of panic shot through him. He should have waited. But it the perfect opportunity. He just did not know what he was going to do with her. He had time. He had a place to hole down and decide. The options for Decepticon justice almost seemed limitless...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Mikaela's head pounded. Painfully so. She raised her arm to touch it, groggily, and found she couldn't raise her arm all the way, a manacle bit into her wrist. Her brows pinched and she tried to piece together what had happened. She hurt. Her head hurt. Her throat hurt. Everything just hurt. She sat up, and tried to focus in on her surroundings. The light was dim. It took a few moments for her sight to adjust. She looked around the building, her eyes stopping on the Decepticon who sat watching her. He moved close, plucking the manacle from her wrist with sharp talons. She stiffened and clenched her fists to keep them from shaking. Her nails bit into her hands, digging in deeply enough to draw blood.

"You may have the run of the building," he said, still watching her. "You have nowhere to go, and no way to get out. And if you do, I will find you again. Do not think you would survive an escape attempt." He growled, bending down until they were eye to optic. She did not flinch, and she could tell he respected her for that against whatever else he might be feeling.

"What does it matter? You're going to kill me anyway." Mikaela finally said, her own eyes narrowing. Still, she looked around, her mind whirling. There were no windows close enough to the ground for her to escape though. The door she could see had some sort of mechanised lock on it. She could not help but frown. The building was once a warehouse, that much was clear. Long deserted. The bed she sat on was on a slab of cement that once might have been the office area. There was a sink and a bathroom in the corner. She eyed the emergency shower mistrutfully. The colors and smells from the various fluids on the floor told her the whole story of the building. At least, the roof seemed pretty much in one piece. She sighed. What the hell was she going to do?

Not much. At least not much now. She would have to be wary and wait him out. Chances were good he would grow bored with her, and when he did she would go back home in pieces. Or maybe not go back home at all. It would hurt Sam if she never came back and this was what this was all about. Sam had killed the Decepticon leader and this was a loyal Decepticon. Still, he seemed like any of the dozens of hardened criminals her dad worked with over the years. Everyone of them grew careless. She just had to wait for this one to get careless too. If dealing with her family had taught her anything, it was how to recognize when someone was about to screw up.

So she would watch, and she would wait. She wasn't going to be just another mark, another statistic.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sam frowned, dialing Mikaela's number for what seemed like the thousandth time but, in reality, was the seventh. They had broken up months ago, but she was still one of his best friends. They had been through a lot together. He punched out the numbers and hit talk again. It went straight to voicemail and a little thrill of panic shot through him, like the ascent of a roller coaster. The odd feeling rising and just knowing it was going to bottom you out any minute now.

"Sam?" Bumblebee's holoform sat on the edge of the window, frowning. Sam's blood pressure rose minutely, then more than minutely.

Sam waved the phone under Bumblebee's nose like the little object had personally offended him. "'Kaela isn't answering her phone."

Bee cocked a brow, swinging his legs the rest of the way into the room, watching his human as he nearly flapped about and rambled on about the girl in question. "Perhaps, she is asleep?" The scout asked, watching Sam go through the motions of panic. It was always an interesting sight.

"She's not at home. I called her house first! Don't you think I would call her house first? You know how she is...she's just...she's just not very careful, Bee." Sam said, his voice rising in pitch.

"Youknowhowsheis!" Sam nearly shouted, his hands waving about in a clear notion of panic.

"Some...some Decepticon could have her. Starscream could be torturing her. We don't even know where any of them are." His eyes widened as the panic set in. "She could be dead, Bee."

Bee looked at him and leaned forward, putting his hand over Sam's mouth. "Calm yourself. You are going to wake your parental units. She is probably fine. Mikaela is not stupid. Do you honestly think one of them would get to her?"

Bumblebee leaned away, more reluctantly that he even cared to admit to himself, and ran a hand through his holoform's shaggy blond hair. It was a habit he had picked up while learning to imitate human gestures. He considered it for a moment and finally shrugged. Mikaela was a bit of a touchy subject for him. He liked her. Knew she was a good friend to Sam. But he always had a twinge of jealousy when he looked at her. Even after she and Sam had broken things off. "Let's go look for her then. It is clearly the only thing that will...settle your nerves," he said. He threw a glance over at Sam, and wondered if he would ever get the picture. His spark skipped a little beat.

Sam continued to pace around the room, making himself agitated. "Sam?" He called, trying to get the young man's attention. "Sam," he said again, louder this time, and the boy finally nodded at him.

"I will be right down." Sam said, watching Bumblebee's holoform dissolve. He still found it entirely disconcerting.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooo

Bumblebee revved his engine, doing his best to be patient as he waited for Sam to come down. Patience. If he did not have such a trait before, by Primus, he was gaining it these days. It seemed like he waited for a joor, but it could not have been more than a breem. Hot air excited his vents in what would have amounted to a sigh. His sensors scanned Sam as he strode out of the house, the odd spark of power still in Sam's chest. He wondered what changes it was making in his human, but only time would tell. He opened the passenger side door, closing it with a click as Sam sat down. His holoform appeared in the driver's seat, his blue eyes already fastening on Sam, searching his human's face for a moment before he backed out of the driveway. Sam was still edgy, he could tell by the way he practically twitched. "Sam?"

Sam startled, shaken out of whatever revery he has sunk into. It was a habit that had grown more and more apparent in the months since the loss of the Allspark. Not loss, so much, Bumblebee knew. It wasn't lost, just seemingly dormant within Sam. It worried him. It worried him a great deal.

They went silently down the road, Bumblebee sending out his sensors throughout the area about them. He went through his wifi. Hacking into the phone systems he found the GPS for Mikaela's phone, and frowned. It was not at her house. Perhaps Sam had a right to worry. He followed the location and finally stopped, it was a good mile from Mikaela's house. He came to a halt, his holoform jumped out and began looking around. He spotted a glint of muted metal, something human eyes would never have noticed. The cellphone was half buried in a patch of grass. He picked it up, tossing it at Sam. "I think...I think we have a problem." His holoform's eyes flicked to Sam, waiting for the explosion.

He did not have to wait long. Sam's eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head. Bee hoped they would not. He found he was more than a little bit fond of his human as he was. For once he simply let Sam rant, his attention turning inside as he reached out, the comlink settling into place like a sigh. Bumblebee winced, feeling the communication link settle into place and, for the first time since his vocalizer had been fixed, he was at a loss for words. :Mikaela Banes is missing.: He finally sent, sending out the GPS location.

:We will be right there.: Came Optimus' quick reply. The comlink went silent. He felt a wash of guilt at his relief that the other Autobots did not chime in. His nerves, if he had them, as such were stretched bare. He turned his attention back to Sam, who had finally gone quiet. Not a good sign, exactly. His holoform sat back in the driver's seat and looked at Sam's quiet form. It was as far from good as any sign could get. Sam was a nervous babbler, he tried to talk his way out of trouble. Silence was an ill fitting suit for him.

They sat like this for several minutes, the tension rising, before Sam...his Sam...came out of hiding. His words poured out like an unchecked river through a busted dam. "Someone should have been watching her! Humans aren't always very nice to each other. Not at all. Anyone could have picked her up! I always told her she needed to stop walking alone at night. I mean, her father might have pissed someone off from prison. Some random slagger could have been driving along and got a thought in their head. God, Bee, what about serial killers?" His breath was coming heavy and his voice cracked from the strain. Sam turned, looking at Bee with pained eyes. "She could very well be dead by now!"

Bumblebee didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say. All of that was true. It didn't have to be Decepticons. It could have easily been some random human. Either way, they might never know and it would break Sam's heart.

He did the only thing he could. His holoform leaned across the seat and pulled Sam into a tight hug. He held him even as Sam tried to weakly push away. And he held him as the young human gave in and began to cry.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooo

Mikaela washed her face in the sink and frowned at her reflection. She had lost track of the hours, the days since she had been snatched up. It grated on her nerves. For the most part he had ignored her, which was, perhaps a worse sort of torture. The first day she was sure he was going to kill her. But they had settled into a rhythm of sorts. Mostly she slept, and he ignored her. He would go out, often coming back with food for her. It was all odd. Her frown deepened and she rummaged through the boxes of supplies that littered the living area. Clearly the bot was a klepto. She could not imagine him going into the store in his holoform and buying what she needed. It did make her wonder for more than a moment how long he had been planning this and why he was doing it. He had made no move to hurt her after the first day. He had made little move to communicate with her at all. As far as she could tell he had made no moves to contact the Autobots either. She turned and eyed him where he sat across the room, lost in an apparent recharge. She finally sat at the edge of the cement slab, watching him more out of boredom than anything else. The once pristine white was more of a muddy grey. She found it odd. The Autobots were, at best, finicky about the condition of their exteriors. At their worst they were vainer than high school cheerleaders. She shook herself away from the idea of Optimus with pompoms and stood, crossing the space across the warehouse, intent on taking a closer look. To call him muddy at best was a kindness she didn't think he deserved. Without thinking she bent over, running a finger across the white paint on his door. Her finger came back caked with a lair of filth.

His optics flashed red as he came out of recharge. "What are you doing, fleshling?" He growled at her. There was no real bite to the growl, more tired irritation than anything. It did nothing to dissuade her curiosity.

She shrugged, glaring at him. "Does it matter?" She needled at him. "Why am I here?" She blurted out holding her ground.

The Decepticon's optics shuttered for a moment and he forced them to reopen with all the patience he had. Barricade looked down at her, looked hard. He evaluated his opponent before finally speaking. "You are here because I choose for you to be here," he replied in an ambiguous tone, which only made her blood pressure rise. He noted it, and the way the blood rose to her cheeks. "What does it matter? It is not as if the boy has use for you any longer. Does he?" He needled at her. He couldn't help himself. "Why would he want you when he has the little insect?" He bent down, their faces nearly touching. "No one wants you. They have not even looked for you, they care that much."

Makaela bristled, understanding what seeing red meant for the first time. She snapped at him with all her fury. "Then it seems like you're making an effort in futility, doesn't it? Why waste your time with me if they aren't looking for me? Why not let me go? Or kill me?" Something he said seeped into her higher brain functions. The insect? Bumblebee? "And...ew...he doesn't...it isn't like that. It isn't like that at all." Her face lost its color, and she shook her head. "They couldn't even do anything... Bumblebee...and Sam... Why would they want to?" She shook her head, feeling sick as she remembered how lifelike Bumblebee's holoform was. All the time and effort he had put into mimicking human gestures. Why would he need to do that?

"They don't need you, they don't want you, and they are certainly not going to put up the effort to find you, fleshling." She glared up at him with simmering hatred, she did not back down from him. The fleshling was brave, he would give her that.

She finally turned away, her back straight, and pushed down the dread going through her chest. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps he was. Certainly she was still here. But that didn't mean she needed to lie back and take his insults. She had liked it better when he wasn't paying attention to her at all. "Perhaps they do not," she finally said. "But that does not tell me why you brought me here.

"That is for me to know and you to wonder about," he said, his optics following her. He scanned her, her stress levels clearly high. "Go eat, fleshling. Your blood sugar is low." He grumbled, frowning inside as he assessed her condition. And then frowning more at the fact he cared at all.

She scowled back at him, not moving. "I am not hungry."

"I do not care. You need to refuel," he said, making it more of an order than a statement. "Eat."

Mikaela's eyes narrowed, and she stomped back over to him, hand on her hips. "No."

"I was not asking you," the mech's voice was cold and filled with promises of what would happen to her if she didn't do as he said.. "Go eat before I make you."

"No," she repeated, knowing she was acting both foolish and juvenile and frankly not caring one lick. She sat down where she had stood.

Barricade watched her for a moment, feeling equally sour about it. He considered his options. He could pluck her up in his hands, but that would hardly solve the issue at hand. He finally settled on just asking her. "Why?"

She blinked, taken aback. "I want...real food," she finally said. "Living on junk food is just going to make me sick anyway. We don't live on the stuff you brought. Well, not if we want to stay anything resembling healthy." Her stomach rumbled, echoing her sentiments. "I need protein, vegetables, fruits...I might offline an Autobot for a pound of strawberries...anything but...chips and cookies." She frowned at him. "All foods are not equal. Making me live on cookies and sweets is like letting a jet try to run on unleaded."

He considered it and accessed the internet, frowning when what he found confirmed what she said.

"I want a steak or at the very least a cheeseburger," she continued. Her eyes had taken on a bright sheen at the mention of meat. "Something warm, and...not sweet. Please." It made her wince to say it, but it tumbled off of her lips again. "Please."

"Fine," he shrugged, looking down at the girl. "Get dressed. We will get food and any other supplies you need." He eyed her, and poked a talon in her face. "If you try to escape, I will kill you, and every human I come across. I suggest you behave."

She blinked up at him. "Ah...give me a second." She sprinted across the room, grabbed a semi clean outfit and changed out of her clothes. She grabbed a brush and pulled it through her hair, checking her reflection. What she wouldn't have given for some make-up. She looked passable, though, if it even really mattered.

Barricade frowned and watched the fleshling, his optics resting on her bare skin for a moment before he looked away. Transforming into his alt form, he brought his holoform into being. He changed the clothing, black jeans and a black t-shirt. He'd seen many young, off duty, police officers walk out of their stations dressed this way when he had been hiding in their lots. All he needed to complete the look would have been a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses worn more for fashion than function. He thought about for half a klik and then added them. If he was going to play the part he might as well go full out. "We do not have all night, fleshling," he ground out in irritation.

The passenger door popped open, and she paused only for a moment before climbing in. The loading door opened of its own accord as they approached it. He either had it wired to a frequency only he could activate or he had set it to recognize his energy signature. Both methods were in employ at the Autobot embassy and both had fascinated her. She'd spent hours asking Ratchet and Wheeljack how they had programmed them to identify human signatures as well as the Cybertronian ones. If she ever got back she would describe Barricade's set up and see what had made it tick.

They sped down the road for what seemed like an eternity. The landscape was sparse, and Mikaela did not recognize the area, or the town they finally drove into. Still, she looked about hungrily at the life around her. It felt as though she had been locked away for an eternity.

Barricade watched her out of the corner of his holoform's eyes. He couldn't say he had ever understood some bots penchants for keeping such fleshlings as pets before but he was starting to. He was starting to understand it and it was starting to scare him. Mostly because he was quite sure one didn't feel some of these creeping emotions toward a pet. He took another look at her, a feeling of familiarity and comfort coursing through his lines, and considered the situation.

They went through not one fast food place but two, paying with cash he had hidden in the dashboard.

Mikaela's brows rose together as she wondered for the briefest moment where he had gotten it. She did not dwell on it though and ate a cheeseburger. It was as easily as good as steak to her deprived system. She smacked her lips in barely exaggerated satisfaction as they sat in the parking lot of a mom and pop store. She made a show of ignoring the napkins and wiping the grease from her fingers daintily across his seat. She knew he knew she had done it on purpose, the small scowl as her fingers had gone across the fabric hard to miss. But he showed amazing restraint and said nothing.

The place he had chosen was a little grocery store. A dime a dozen family operation that probably hadn't updated its facade since sometime in the 80's. She looked around and raised a brow. "Why here?"

"No security cameras. At least, nothing networked," he pointed out. "Do you think I am stupid enough to take you to one of those places?"

"The Autobots-"

"Are not looking for you," he cut her off, clamping a hand around her wrist. "But that does not mean the human authorities are not. They would be bothersome. I would hate to scrub your blood off my interior because you couldn't behave. It would be...tedious."

She pulled at her wrist, trying not to show that his statement had affected her. "You're overdue for a wash anyway," she hissed back. He smiled, dropping her hand only to put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her a bit too close.

"You are going to go in there, you are going to behave yourself, or Primus help me, I will be getting that wash later this evening." His tone was soft, almost jovial, like killing her was something that should be joked about. Maybe it was. Maybe he had become so numb to his actions that killing her would just be another normal night for him.

She allowed him to help her out of the car, and then to hold her hand the entire trip through the store. He said nothing as she grabbed a basket and indicated he should hold it so she could grab her purchases with her free hand. Ignoring the brightly colored packages that she had been eating out of since he first abducted her she pulled him straight for a sign that said "Locally grown produce." This was exactly what she had needed.

She then headed for feminine aisle, and idly noted that he must look like the world's best boyfriend as she threw some thing that she would need soon in their basket. She gave a longing look to the small cosmetics display on the other side of the aisle. What she wouldn't give for a little lipstick. For a woman who had spent so much time on her appearance she felt practically naked without it.

He tilted his head as he noticed her stare. "Something you want?"

"It's nothing," she shrugged, still not able to look away.

"It's obviously something if you keep looking at it," he teased, pulling her closer to the display so he could see what had caught her attention. Little rolls and squares of color, some with instructions right on the packaging. Human paint. He didn't really see the point in it, but it looked harmless enough. "You may have some, if you really want it."

She couldn't hide her pleased hum as she leaned in to look over the offerings. And he couldn't hide his own answering pleasure at being the cause of hers. This was becoming dangerous.

He paid for the sundries she had picked out, flashing the cashier a smile and noting a rise in her blood pressure when the other female smiled back. Interesting. He grabbed the bags with one hand and her hand with the other as they left the store, looking for all intents like a normal couple. He smirked, the passenger door of his alt form popping open. She got in without an argument, and began attacking the bags before the door was even closed. He cross referenced the fruit she was quickly working her way through. Strawberries. He also noted she should be washing them first, and made sure to have a comment ready if she was sick later in the night.

He watched her, leaning in he touched the bare skin on her neck, it was smooth and soft. He was silent for a moment. He checked his processor, and frowned inside. He enjoyed it when she was content like this, but he also enjoyed it when she was prickly. It was amusing. More than amusing. He considered it, considered her, rolling an idea in his head. It was never one that he had thought of before, consciously at any rate. It was not uncommon among the Autobots, at least, to feel affection for organics. The perverse creatures. The Decepticons, less so. He let the idea roll around in his processor a little more, and decided he did not find it so distasteful as it once was. Two weeks of her oh so pleasant company and she was growing on him. Even Megatron had a bit of a weakness for such creatures. He hadn't been joking when he had offered to make the Insect's boy his pet. His uncle had valued bravery and feistiness in his toys. Granted Megatron's pets rarely lived long at all. He was a petulant master at best. The same snide comment that would earn an organic a chuckle one cycle might result in their deactivation the next. Still he let the idea roll around in his processor some more, seriously considering it. Even he could tell she was beautiful for her kind. He considered it a bit harder, opened the cellular data link and started looking through the internet.

Mikaela looked out the window now that her first carton of strawberries was gone. Depressed was the best word for how she was feeling right now, she decided. Depressed with a capital "D". She had let him buy her compliance with a bit of fruit and a little make up. There was a word for that and it wasn't a nice one. She sighed and let herself drift off as she looked out the window. It was pleasantly warm and the seat was soft against her skin. She sighed again, her heart hurting. She considered everything he had said before they left. About Sam. About Bee. It made her eyes sting. She pushed it all away. There was no way she would admit such weakness in front of him. She couldn't. Not and expect to live through it.

The silence grew to the point that it was a nearly palpable thing. He watched her, considering his words carefully. His eyes narrowed and his expression grew cagey. "What is wrong, little fleshling? I allowed you to get the supplies you insisted on. I even allowed you some frivolity."

"Thinking about home," she admitted before she realized what she was saying.

"Still mulling over the little insect and his socket?" He needled, more curious to her reaction that anything.

She merely blinked at him. "His socket? What?" She gave his holoform a sideways glance.

He barked a laugh, clearly amused by her confusion. "A socket, my dear fleshling, is an admittedly crude word for organics. Well for an organic that a Cybertronian has made their own. Generally it's a sex toy. But sometimes it's just a slovenly devoted pet. It really depends on what circle you ran with as to how it was used. But believe me, it was never meant to be a good thing," his holoform smirked at her. "That boy is the little insect's socket as surely as I have energon in my lines." He gave her a sideways glance, watching her reaction.

Mikaela turned pale, not for the first time tonight. "You're sick! It isn't like that," she said, knowing it sounded weak to even her ears. "How could they even..."

"Oh, but it is." He smiled, amused by her denial. "And how can I touch you? The same principles apply, my dear fleshling."

She looked out the window, doing her best to ignore him. It was difficult since he seemed to be all about her. Mikaela hugged herself tightly. The urge to curl up into a ball and cry was hard to resist. "You are wrong," she finally said. Her voice was strained and hoarse. "Sam and Bee aren't like that. They aren't," she denied. "They are close but It. Is. Not. Like. That." She tried to growl it out but it sounded weak to her own ears. Some part of her was awakening to the idea. How many times had they touched when they didn't need to? The loving glances between boy and Autobot? Had something been going on this whole time, carried out under her nose?

He stopped, pulling off the side of the road and leaning in. "I am right. If they are not already lovers, I can assure you, my sweet little fleshling, they will be soon." His holoform leaned in, nearly nuzzling into her neck. She smelled so sweet, and her skin was warm. He nearly shivered in the anticipation of it. Now that he had accepted the idea it was torturous to wait to act on it. "The boy is marked. I can assure you, the insect will not wait around forever to seal the bond. He has already marked the boy with his nanites. No bot within a hundred miles could mistake the insect's intentions. Do you understand me?" He briefly wondered if it would be worth the hassle to attempt to initiate a mating on the side of the highway. He set the thought aside, she wouldn't be willing and he wanted her to be a participant in this. It would be easier for what he had in mind. "Do you understand me?" Barricade asked again.

She shivered, "I do."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoo

Sam paced. It seemed like that was all he did these days. Mikaela had vanished into thin air. There was not a blip on the screen. No sightings of her. No sightings of any who might have taken her, Decepticons or otherwise. She had vanished. Utterly and completely. Sam paced and he was very unhappy besides. School was over, barely so, and all thoughts of college were on hold. It felt as though his whole life were put on hold. He had been living in the NEST compound, dubbed the Autobot City. He was not happy about it, truthfully. Or he would be, possibly, had his best human friend not been MIA most of the time.

Bumblebee frowned, watching Sam pace. He seemed to be operating on nervous energy these days. He worried for his boy's health. And could not help but fret about other things as well. He weebled and wobbled about how best to proceed. As much as he loved Sam, and he really did love Sam, the boy was obtuse about such things. Sam was obtuse, and Bumblebee... well he was just frustrated.

:Bumblebee.:: Optimus' comlink snapped him out of his reverie. ::Come to my office. We need to talk.::

The scout could not help but cringe. It had become a daily issue. The lectures, at this point, simply made him bristle. He didn't know what Optimus thought would be different from today than from all the days before it. But, as promised, his Prime was waiting for him in said office. His stony silence telling enough.

Optimus eyed him for a moment. His continued silence was a type of disapproval that even mech as thick headed as Skids and Mudflap could easily catch. "Bumblebee I take it you have still not told Samuel then."

Bumblebee flinched and tried not to fidget. "I haven't found..."

"He is not your socket, soldier. We do not do such things, they're without honor befitting an Autobot. You cannot mark one so, not even as lightly as you have marked Samuel, and not let them know at least your intentions." Optimus said, his exasperation and worry apparent. It was a lecture and a conversation they had daily since the boy had been moved to Autobot City. If it were possible for him to have a headache surely Prime knew he had one now. He was not against the relationship itself. If it made them both happy, fine. But he would not abide with the boy being unknowing in the matter. "You must tell him if you intend to court him, it is not fair to either of you to go on like this," he went on, his worry for both of the boys apparent in his tone. "It will only hurt you both. If you go on as you are he may believe you have manipulated him into being your mate and grow to resent you for it."

"It isn't like that. I...I don't think of him as my..." The smaller mech stopped. "It's not like that. " He nearly shook with it. He was terrified at what Sam would do. Had he been human his cheeks would have flushed red. Still he vented hot air, squirming under his Prime's regard.

"I know it is not. I know. It was not fair of me to speak out of frustration. But this is not something you can keep a secret." Optimus was still speaking to him but his gaze was obviously out in the hall.

Bumblebee wilted under his words. Wilted even more as he realized he had forgotten to close the door. He knew what would be standing there before he even looked, but he forced himself to turn around. He blinked sheepishly, watching Sam watch him from the open door. He looked between Optimus and Sam, his optics shuttering several times. Prime knew Sam had been there. There was no doubt of that and for a moment he felt something well up in his spark he'd never felt towards the other mech; bitterness and not a small amount of hatred. Bumblebee just wondered how much he had heard, and had a sinking feeling that Sam had followed him down here from the moment he'd left their bunker. He stole one last peevish glance at his Prime before turning his attention completely to Sam. "We need to talk." He could not help but feel like the world was falling out beneath him.

"Yes. I think we do," Sam agreed and walked away from the office back towards the quarters they shared. He didn't look back to see if Bee was following. He was too busy stewing over the conversation he had overheard. His cheeks were flushed by the time they reached the rooms, and he did not know if he should be pleased or mad, or what. He settled for somewhere in the middle, suppressing the reaction to rant and rave about it for the moment. "He said you marked me?"

"Very lightly," Bumblebee admitted.

"With what?"

"Nanites." The mech almost whimpered out the word. Sam's eyebrow quirked and it made him feel like he should give more of an explanation. "They serve a lot of functions. They make up our holoforms. They help repair us. And they can be used to mimic organic cells. They can be transmitted by a simple touch, if we so wish it, for the lighter markings."

"I see. How long?"

Bumblebee squirmed under Sam's regard. It was worse in so many ways than Optimus' disappointment.

"How long?" Sam said again, more firmly this time.

Bumblebee flinched. "Six months," he finally croaked, his voice unit cracking from the stress of the matter. He flinched again, warily watching this Sam. He was mad. Clearly. Madder than he had ever seen him. But clear-headed about it. Not unlike he was at Mission City.

"Before Mikaela and I broke up?" Sam asked, his eyes narrowing.

The yellow mech croaked, "Yes...I..." he shook his head.

"Yes?" Sam asked, knowing he was being cruel.

Bumblebee clicked in exasperation. This was not his normal Sam. He was did not know what to do with this intense creature. He had not seen him quite this way since the cube...Bumblebee shivered at the thought of it and dropped his head. "It was wrong of me. I know it was wrong of me. I'm sorry Sam. I..." He knew the next words out of his vocalizer were going to damn him to the pits. "I love you and I went about it the wrong way."

Sam watched him, frowning, and finally sighed. He cast a somewhat jaundiced eye at his best friend and sighed again. "I love you too," he finally settled it, still clearly agitated and exasperated. "How would this even...ah...work?"

A/N:  
><strong>Warnings for this Chapter<strong>**: **Implied Xeno, Dubious Intentions. Implied Past Mech-Preg. Sparklings. Family-ties.  
>1. Transformers do not in any way shape or form belong to me.<br>2. Thanks to Themadterran who Proofs for us. Sometimes. 3  
>3. Lyra's mate was borrowed from an original series of short stories Chi did several years ago. Think "Our Dragons Are Different" meets ancient mythology. More on that later.<br>4. In this verse all Cybertronians are either True-sparked or Allspark Born. The following are always True-sparked: Prime-kin, Elites, Seekers, Praxians, Femmes, and other specialty frames. True-sparks are sparked with bonding in their programming, Allspark born are not. Allspark born will occasionally bond either together or with a True-spark. However, they must have their programming upgraded to do so. In some cases the offspring of two Allspark born must also have program upgrades if they wish to bond. But we'll go farther into that in later chapters.  
>6. We are using the BayverseTransformers Prime views of Mechanical Biology. Bayverse called the Cybertronian CNA nanites, so we're going with that.


End file.
